Progression
by Kairou Watoshimi
Summary: In which Light learns that death gods were not as invincible like he had originally thought and L might not be Kira's biggest threat after all.
1. First Impressions

**Apparently, getting back into Death Note meant writing a Death Note / Inuyasha crossover. I'll be using the manga as a base so there might be a few familiar scenes but once it gets to a certain point, the plot will divide. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Inuyasha, or any of its characters.**

**Progression  
****[1] First Impressions**

_What the hell _is _that thing? _Kagome wondered, her face scrunching up slightly as she stared at the large figure hovering over a young man. It obviously wasn't human but Kagome was positive that it wasn't a demon either. She had seen demons before, fought against monsters that people couldn't even begin to imagine but this was the first time she was seeing something so... so... _ridiculous! _It was like cosplay gone wrong with its spiky, fur-like shoulder pelt, studded belts, ripped pants, rather high-heeled shoes, and jewelry! It was even wearing jewelry! Besides its odd choice of garments, the creature's aura also lacked a demonic feel to it, instead it felt darker and far more sinister than anything Kagome was used to.

She then turned her attention to the well-dressed student, jaw muscle twitching at the sight of him. He was good looking—_very _good looking if she was to be completely honest with herself—and he _seemed _innocent enough if Kagome was only going to judge him by his physical appearance. Unfortunately, Kagome was far more concern about the creature's dark aura swirling, entwining around the human's and dominating it quiet ruthlessly. The human was either possessed or in some sort of contract with the creature; she leaned towards the latter. Kagome has seen possessions before and he didn't seem like a man possessed.

Then, as if sensing her stare, the young man paused momentarily and without warning, looked up. Their eyes met.

Kagome immediately paled, pulling backwards in shock. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to clear away her surprise before quickly turning away. Too late. _Not my problem, _she thought, forcing herself to continue walking, taking great care to make a wide berth around the human-creature duo. _Leave it alone, you're not a hero, Kagome. Leave it alone._

She reminded herself of the hours she had spent studying and studying and _studying _in the last few months of her middle school career after the well's closing just so she could get into a semi-decent high school. She also had no spent three years of high school studying her ass off so she could fail Touou University's bar exam. Higurashi Kagome was on a mission. She was going to get into the best university of the nation, graduate, get a steady job, earn lots of money, and live a life. The well had failed her and she wasn't going to let her desire for fairy tales and adventure run her hard work.

Ducking her head, Kagome spun around and resumed walking. What was she doing worrying about something no one else could see when she had a bar exam she needed to pass? _Not my business, not my business, not my business! _So focused was she in her chant, she did not notice the man she had been staring at only moments ago had caught up with her until his shoulder brushes up against her own.

Spiritual powers that had been locked away for so long immediately burst forth, swarming within her at the contact. The amount of _jaki _the man was giving off was staggering and she squeaked in surprise but managed to hold herself in check, squashing down her powers ruthlessly.

"Ah, I'm sorry," the man said, looking down at her with a faint smile. Kagome didn't care how innocent the man thought he looked, he had obviously bumped into her on purpose. He was trying to get a reaction out of her.

"It's okay," she mumbled, fully intent on speeding up and leaving the human-creature duo behind.

"Are you here for the bar exam?"

Kagome scowled. "Yes." She wanted to scoff; why else would someone be here? It wasn't as if class was still in session.

"You seem nervous," he commented.

Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to leave the man behind without seeming rude—and her mother taught her better than that—Kagome meekly looked up at him, ignoring the dark figure hovering over his other side. "I guess I am," she said. With his natural good looks and light brown eyes, he really did seem innocent. Perhaps he didn't know that he was being followed and possibly slowly possessed by a supernatural creature. "You?"

"Not particularly," he answered with another smile.

The creature laughed, "Of course you're not."

Kagome tensed again but the man doesn't show any indication he had heard the creature speak or noticed her reaction. _Maybe it's some sort of dark guardian angel? _she thought.

"Oh, I'm Yagami Light, by the way."

"Higurashi Kagome," she responded with a nervous smile, doing her best to ignore the creature which was now giggling uncontrollably. "Nice to meet you." She thought about shutting it up with a pulse of her purification powers but suspected she might also hurt Yagami since the creature's _jaki _and aura was so interwoven into his own.

"Ah, good luck, Higurashi-san," Yagami said as the two of them approached the sign-in table.

"Thank you." Kagome smiled. "You too."

"Name?" a receptionist asked gruffly.

"Higurashi Kagome," she responded with a bright smile, pulling out her identification card.

The receptionist handed her a slip of paper with a smile, softened by Kagome's polite attitude. "Your number is one sixty-two, good luck."

"Thank you," Kagome responded with another bright smile. "I'll need it!" She turned towards Yagami, "What seat are you in?"

"One ninety-two," he answered with a wave of his number slip, lips curling upwards into an almost smirk-like smile. The creature next to him laughed again, this time even louder than before. "That's too bad."

Kagome giggled nervously in response. _Thank god I don't have to sit next to him, _she thought. _Imagine listening to that laugh while trying to figure out advance calculus._

They wish each other luck one last time before parting ways. Kagome was able to quickly find her seat. "Okay, Higurashi, you can do this," she whispered to herself as she settles down, wiggling around into a more comfortable position. A couple rows in front of her, she noticed that Yagmi's creature was floating near Yagami, saying something too soft for her to hear over the noise of the room. She narrowed her eyes; was it possible that she was mistaken and that Yagami was a really good actor and could actually see his dark guardian angel or whatever that thing was?

Her attention was then diverted when someone sank down into the seat next to hers. Kagome blinked and turned, watching as the man patted himself with a soft humming-like noise. "Ah," he exclaimed softly, looking around as if he had dropped something. He turned towards her and Kagome jerks in surprise as their eyes met. And she thought the bags underneath her eyes were bad. "Ah," he tries again. "Do you have a pencil?" He patted himself again as if to emphasis his lack of one.

"Um... Yes, hold on." She dug into her pencil case and handed one over to the man.

He took it, handling it delicately by holding it by its tip with two fingers. "Thank you," he murmured, biting his thumb nail on his free hand.

She nodded and stared, unable to help herself. She had seen a variety of individuals before—demons, humans, and everything in between—all with different quirks and personalities but this guy has got to be the weirdest by far. _Today's just full of surprises, _she thought, turning back around so she was facing the front again. This time, she forced herself to ignore the creature still hovering around Yagami; she had another five minutes before the exam starts, she cannot afford to be distracted by creatures she wasn't even supposed to see in the first place.

* * *

Yagami Light ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his eyes. It wasn't a coincidence; from her interaction with him earlier, Higurashi Kagome was apprehensive of him. Thinking back, Light was positive that he had not been doing anything earlier that would have made anyone want to avoid him to the point Higurashi had attempted to do so.

In front of the room, the exam proctors began passing out exam sheets and booklets but Light was paying them no mind. He had other things to worry about. Was it possible that she could see Ryuk? But hadn't Ryuk explained to him that she needed to touch his Death Note in order to see him?

He glanced at Ryuk from the corner of his eyes. The shinigami, knowing Light's discomfort was full out laughing now, much to his annoyance. He'll have to have a talk with the shinigami later.

"Begin," the proctor stated and immediately the room filled with noise of page flipping and pencil scratching against paper.

Light sighed and turned his attention to his exam booklet. _I'll get this over with and think about her later._

"Student one sixty-two," the proctor called out. He began making his way towards the back of the room. "Please sit properly."

This was the first time Light had ever heard that kind of statement. He turned his head around slightly; what kind of position did one have to sit in in order to catch the attention of a proctor and actually be called out on it? Bare feet propped up onto his desk and sitting in a slightly hunched manner, Light had a feeling that the student was only at Touou's bar exam just to please his parents. _What a waste of time, _he thought, turning back around.

The exam was just as easy as he had thought it was going to be, managing to finish it an hour before the ending time. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched the entire time. _Higurash_i, _he suspected. _He wasn't planning on killing her earlier but she was acting way too suspicious for his liking. She knows something and Light was not about to take any chances. She may seem innocent despite being as nervous as she was but Light will not underestimate her. The last time he had underestimated someone, he had revealed the limits to Kira's powers to the worst person possible.

Waiting until he reached a rather isolated street, Light redirected his attention back to Ryuk. "Do you know something."

Ryuk laughed. "About what?"

_As if he doesn't know, _Light scowled. "Higurashi Kagome. Do you know something about her?"

Ryuk couldn't help but grin at the question. Although Light's voice gave nothing away, the shinigami knew that Light was more than just a little curious. _To tell or not to tell? _He weighs his options and ultimately decided that telling would be so much more amusing than withholding information. Let the young human panic, let him realize that L was not the only threat to his dreams of a perfect world, let him wander about in the unknown. "I cannot see her lifespan."

Light stared at Ryuk in shock. "What does that mean?"

Ryuk tapped a clawed finger against his chin. "Well, since human owners of the Death Note can be considered shinigamis themselves, fellow shinigamis are unable to see their lifespans. It's one of our rules, you see." It is also another one of their rules that they weren't allowed to tell humans the life spans of other humans but Ryuk couldn't see hers so he wasn't actually breaking anything.

"So she owns a Death Note," Light muttered. And by the way she had acted around him, she must have the shinigami eyes which meant that she knows he also has a Death Note. With this in mind, Light knows that he has no other choice but to kill her before she killed him. Another Death Note owner would add so much additional variables into his life and with L suspected families of police officers and him being watched, he cannot afford another variable. Besides—

Ryuk giggled again.

"What is it?" Light demanded.

The shinigami's grin widened, his lips stretching to their full capacity and then some. "I can't see her name either."

Light froze. "And what does _that _mean?" Much to Light's annoyance, Ryuk only chuckled happily. Vowing that he was going to start withholding apples from the shinigami for an uncertain amount of time in the future, Light eyed the shinigami and tried again, "Did she see you?"

Shrugging a shoulder, Ryuk answers with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "That's impossible. As you know, the only people that can see me are those that have touched _my _Death Note." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "However, there _are_ some humans that are more spiritually aware than others, so it's very possible that she _sensed _me." He cackled delightfully. "But even those humans are rare, just be happy that she was too scared to confront you about it."

But Light was _not _happy, in fact, he was _far _from happy. He made his way into a familiar cafe and seated himself in his favorite isolated corner. The girl may not be a criminal, but like the FBI agents from before, she was a threat to his utopia and he knew that in order to achieve his dreams, a few sacrifices were necessary.

"Can I get you anything?" a waitress asked.

Light smiled up at her. "Just a plain iced coffee, please."

"Of course," she responded with a smile, leaving to place his order.

Next to Light, Ryuk was thinking to himself. As amusing as the situation was, even the shinigami wasn't entirely sure why he couldn't see her name. If it was only her lifespan, he wouldn't care. There were action various reasons as to why a shinigami can't see someone's lifespan, them being an owner of a Death Note just being the most common one of them.

However, the fact that he can't see her name... now, _that _was something to be concerned about. The only explanation he could come up with was that she wasn't human, perhaps a demon hiding behind a human mask. Although their numbers have dwindled in the past few centuries, Ryuk has been able to spot some every now and then, blending perfectly in with humans. He, however, had quickly discarded that possibility when their auras had brushed up against each other earlier. The young woman, although amusing, was nothing more than a simple human, insignificant.

The shinigami scratched his chin again but decided that it didn't matter. She had already caught Light's attention and the young boy managed to not only get her to tell him her name but also verify it when she took out her identification card earlier. Knowing Light, the young girl was going to be dead by the end of the day.

"Here you go," the waitress said, returning and placing down a tall glass of iced coffee in front of Light. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you," Light responded kindly.

The waitress smiled one last time before leaving. Now that he was alone and not about to be interrupted anytime soon, Light reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small sheet of Death Note paper along with a pen from his jacket pocket. Ryuk laughed besides him.

_Higurashi Kagome, _he penned, his handwriting small and neat. It wouldn't do to make her die from a heart attack; L was probably keeping an eye on all heart attack related deaths and get suspicious. Knowing the detective wasn't the usual annoying idiot, Light wouldn't be surprised if L managed to link it back to him. _January 17__th__ 2003\. Goes out to buy some snacks at a local convenient store. Does not see an oncoming car and gets run over. Dies at exactly 16:23. _Light leaned back, admiring his handy work for a moment before folding the paper and slipping it back into his pocket. He took a sip of his coffee.

"You seem pretty pleased," Ryuk commented.

"Of course," he murmured quietly. That was one less problem for him to worry about.

He allowed himself a few more minutes of relaxation as a congratulations for a job well done. After ten minutes or so, he decided that he had wasted enough time and quickly finishes the rest of his coffee before putting the money down onto the table. He gets up and made his way towards the exit.

"Oh!" the waitress exclaimed. "Thank you for coming! Come back next time."

Light smiled in response. "Of course, this is my favorite cafe, after all."

The waitress blushed, probably thinking that his comment was subtly hinting at something. He fights the urge to roll his eyes as he turned around. Light reached for the door handle but before he could even touch it, the door opens, revealing a man on the other side.

Light blinked in surprise. He seriously needed to get his act together if he was planning on not only evading L but killing him too. How was he supposed to do that if he didn't even notice a man standing on the other side of a glass door?

"Oh my," Ryuk breathed, next to him. "What an interesting day."

Light looked up and promptly froze. There was something about the man that made the fine hair at the back of his neck stand up. He looked average enough but Light knew that he should not ignore his instincts. Besides, Light himself looked average but he was about to be the God of the New World. Additionally, there _had _to be something special about the man if Ryuk was going to comment on him. Light stepped to the side, giving the man room to go into the cafe but the man doesn't move, choosing instead to stare at Light.

_What?_

The man's lips curled upwards in a smirk that sends an uncontrollable shiver down Light's spine. Brown eyes flickered, looking almost amber in color from the sunlight. And then, without warning, the man looked away and made his way towards the counter as if nothing had happened in the first place.

_What the hell? _Light thought. First Higurashi and now him? Was there something on his face?!


	2. Catalyst

**Wow, I was definitely not expecting such an awesome response to my first chapter. I don't usually get that big of a response so it was shocking and heart-warming. I hope you all will continue to enjoy this story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Inuyasha, or any of its characters.**

**Progression  
****[2] Catalyst**

"Well," Inuyasha muttered gruffly. "It doesn't _seem _like the work of a human but I honestly can't think of a single demon with this kind of ability. How is he killing his victims, anyway?" He spread out the pile of victim profiles out on the desk in front of him, ignoring his brother's glare. "Besides, no demons in their right mind would go around killing _criminals _for a hobby."

"Obviously," Sesshomaru intoned flatly. He flicked the edge of one of the papers away from the document he was reading.

"But," Inuyasha continued, "unless there's some sort of drug—even that's unlikely—I really don't see how a human can pull something like this off. It's like a demon with a human mind doing the killing. Or maybe human with super powers?"

Sesshomaru paused at his brother's words.

"And why heart attacks anyway?" he snorted. "What a pathetic way to kill someone."

"I saw a contracted human earlier today," Sesshomaru interrupted, remembering.

Inuyasha froze. "Do we have to get involved?" he finally asked after a moment. The last time they had encountered a contracted human, they spent three years chasing the asshole down, two more just trying to kill his damn ass, and another five attempting to cover their tracks so humans wouldn't know of the existence of demons. Thankfully, it had happened a couple hundred years ago and human communication back then consisted of sending letters back and forth so news and gossip or slow to spread. With the technology these days, there was no way the can afford another human-demon contracted duo.

Sesshomaru didn't answer Inuyasha's question for a few moments, instead he stared unseeingly at the paper littering his desk. "I am unsure," he admitted. "In addition, it wasn't a demon the human was contracted with."

"Eh?"

"The human seems to frequent the coffee shop I visit. I will give you a detailed description of his appearance. Find him and keep an eye on him. If he does anything out of the ordinary, if he _creature _does anything out of the ordinary, kill them both." His gaze darkens and he glares. "We do _not _need a repeat of what happened last time."

Inuyasha winced at the reminder. Last time referred to the time when they had come across a demon masquerading around as a human. As suspicious as her actions had been, Inuyasha could not bring himself to kill her, especially not with her tear-filled, large blue eyes staring back up at him. His mistake had cost them a year of chasing an innocent-looking girl, thirsting for world domination.

"Great," the half-demon grumbled as he slid down, slumping in his seat. There was no need to ask Sesshomaru if he knew what the contracted creature was; if he had, he would have mentioned it. However, that mean, Inuyasha had to be the one doing the dirty work. With another sigh, eh reached out and shoved the papers back into a messy pile. "That means we have to get involved. Let's hope the human idiot contracted a non-demon just for good looks or some shit."

Remembering what the creature had looked like, Sesshomaru highly doubted it but decided to allow Inuyasha to have his hopes.

"Contracted humans, Kira," Inuyasha continued to mutter. "What else can go wrong?"

"Also, keep an eye on L."

Inuyasha immediately scowled. "Who the fuck is L?"

"The human detective," reminded Sesshomaru. "If you keep yourself updated with current events, you would know that he took on the Kira case. If Kira is _not _human, I have no doubt L will figure it out sooner or later." He pulled out the detective's profile and glared at it. "And we cannot afford that." Already, L had unknowingly solved four previously unsolved cases that had demons behind them. Sesshomaru knew that it was only out of pure luck and his quick thinking that L had yet to figure out the existence of demons.

To be completely honest, Sesshomaru wasn't even sure if the one who called himself L was actually human himself. He was basing the entire thing off what he knew of a typical demon's personality and his instincts. The file he was holding was painfully thin; without a photograph or even a real name, there wasn't much about the seclusive human that Sesshomaru knew. Most of what he _did _know were only suppositions anyway.

Thankfully, the mere mention of Sesshomaru's name still manages to strike fear among his own kind; only the stupid still dream of something as pathetic as world domination. If Kira was human, Sesshomaru could leave the case for L to figure out; he had no intention of getting involved in some psychotic human with a god complex. However, if Kira _wasn't _human, Sesshomaru had a feeling that the human detective and him would be crossing more times than he would like.

"I'll have our own people look for the contracted human and that L guy or whatever," Inuyasha said. "In the meantime, I'm going to go through these files again." He gets up and goes to leave, ready to bury himself in paperwork again. It was times like this, Inuyasha found himself wishing that he could go back five hundred years when smiles and laughter was an everyday occurrence. He wished he could go back and just take his time to appreciate what he had back then.

"Inuyasha..."

He groaned again, hand pausing at the door handle. "What?" he asked moodily, reading through profiles of dead criminals was not a happy thought. Maybe his brother would show some sort of brotherly love and send him on some assassination mission. He brightened up at the thought.

"I caught a hold of her scent."

Inuyasha immediately froze. He could barely recall her face now but he still remembers a bright smile, blues eyes, and her scene. _Oh, her scent. _His heart pounded hard against his chest and he licked his suddenly dry lips. "By her, you mean..." His ears twitched madly in anticipation.

Sesshomaru nodded once.

_Kagome._

* * *

"—that makes twelve criminals in just the past day. Because of Kira, we continue to see a sharp decline of criminal activity, no only in Japan but around the world. Is Kira—"

Kagome groaned. "Next," she grumbled as she changed the channel.

"—with Kira—"

"No." She tried again, this time pressing the button on her remote with more force than necessary. It wasn't that she didn't find Kira interesting, but it was one thing to make him featured news and another to make him the _entirety _of all news. _I swear, _she thought, _if I die because of a typhoon you guys were too obsessed with Kira to report, I will personally bring all hell down on you._

"Like L says, Kira is no god! Kira is a human and no humans have the right to—"

"Again," she interrupted. "No."

"—in other news—"

"If this is about Kira..."

"—Akiyama Saitou was spotted in Japan late last night. For those who do not know, Akiyama-san is the leader of _Ashikoba. _Although they usually keep to themselves and we do not know the exact nature of _what _the do, they are a private group of—what we suspect to be—detectives that help solve cases. Like L, Akiyama-san only takes cases that he is interested in. Sine he has been spotted in Japan, does that mean he is also interested in the Kira case? Is he planning on teaming up with L to catch—"

_Oh hell, _Kagome thought, getting ready to change the channel again. In that exact moment, however, the news channel decided to show a picture of Akiyama Saitou and Kagome found herself staring at the television screen, eyes wide and unable to look away. With short black hair and light brown eyes, Akiyama Saitou could have easily passed as an average, rich, good-looking business man. But... but... the angle of which the photograph was taken, the outline of the man's cheekbones, the set of his jaw, the _intensity _of his eyes—

"Sesshomaru."

Then, realizing what she had just said—more specifically, whose name she had just uttered—Kagome pressed her lips into a thin line and forced herself to shut the television off. _This is it! _she thought fiercely to herself. _You can't keep doing this to yourself, Kagome! Just because you saw _one _thing that reminded you of the past doesn't mean you can go around trying to recreate it again. _She had made a promise to herself and she intended to keep it, damn it! Unfortunately for Kagome, her mental strength was no nearly as strong as she hoped it would be and she found herself glancing at the blank television screen. _But he really _does _look like Sesshomaru._

Besides, it wasn't just Yagami's weird guardian angel thing and the Sesshomaru look-a-like that reminded her of the past. Kagome wouldn't be surprised if the person behind _Kira _was some sort of demon. _But, _Kagome mused, _if Kira really _is _a demon then that must mean that they're still alive today. _However, despite growing up in a shrine, she had never believed—much less, _encountered_—demons before her fifteenth birthday. That must mean that either demons had hid and interwoven themselves into the still-growing human population or—

She froze; she was doing it _again. _Kagome grabbed a cushion sitting next to her off of the couch, stuffed it into her face, and proceeded to scream into it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid—"

"Kagome?"

Her head immediately snapped up at the unexpected voice. "Oh, mama," she said breathlessly, biting her lower lip. "Uh... you're home! Welcome back."

"Is everything all right?"

She scowled at the reminder. "I just had a very off day." Now, _that _was an understatement. First she met a strange human-creature duo and then the human decided to no leave her alone just because she had stared at him a second too long. Then there was that weird kid who looked like he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell at passing Touou's bar exam but he also hadn't seem especially worried since he spent half the time staring at something or someone sitting in the front rows and the remaining half gnawing off the tip of her pencil. And _then, _to make matters worst, she saw a Sesshomaru look-a-like and proceeded to go through some serious memory-lane field trip. Although, to be completely honest with herself, at the rate her day had been going, Kagome wouldn't be surprised if she had hallucinated the Sesshomaru look-a-like.

"I'm sure you did fine on your exam," her mother soothed, wrapping a comforting arm around Kagome's shoulders. "Besides, there's always next time!"

Kagome immediately paled. "Ahh!" she cried out, burying her face right back into the cushion. "What the hell am I doing thinking about other people when I should have been thinking about how bad I did on the exam? I am so stupid!" She looked up and huffed pitifully. "Oh mama, I couldn't even concentrate!"

"Don't say that, you just took it, you haven't even gotten the results back yet."

"I don't need the results," Kagome grumbled darkly. "I can't even remember a single question." She had been too distracted, watching her pencil grow shorter and shorter as student 162 shamelessly gnawed at it like a teething child. Not to mention, there was that creature that flew around the exam room the entire time moaning and groaning about apples.

"Why don't I get started on dinner and you go upstairs and take a nice, long bath?" Her mother asked. "And if you want to talk about it afterwards, I'll listen."

Kagome sighed happily at the thought of a bath; her mother knew her so well. "Actually," she said slowly. "I think I'm going to take a walk first; I need to clear my head."

Her mother nodded in understanding. "Oh," she exclaimed suddenly as a thought came to her. "Do you mind going to the convenience store? I've been meaning to buy Souta's favorite egg tarts but I always end up forgetting."

Kagome almost snorted in amusement; Souta loved his egg tarts almost as much as Inuyasha loved ramen. She winced. "Of course," she said finally. "I need to buy some snacks too." She leaned out and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I'll be back soon." At her mother's nod, Kagome gave one last smile before jumping off the couch to grab her purse.

"Take your time," her mother called out after her as she was leaving.

"I will," Kagome called back. _Mama is so understanding, _she thought, descending down the shrine steps. The winter breeze felt cold against her skin but Kagome slowed down anyway, if only to numb the feeling of longing within her. She took a longer route to the local convenience store, taking her sweet time to just walk about and not think about anything in particular. Not the creature, not Kira, and most definitely no the Sesshomaru look-a-like.

_It's only four, _Kagome thought as she wrinkled her nose, glancing at the sky. Even for winter, the sky was much darker than usual. A shudder ran through Kagome's body, making her wish that she had at least grabbed a thicker jacket. Thankfully, she could already see the convenience store just down the street. Maybe she could relax in there for a couple minutes before heading back out into the could. She was familiar with the store workers; they wouldn't mind.

She shuddered again.

Kagome paused. Breathing deeply, Kagome slowly clutches her hand into a fist, bringing it close to her chest. Something wasn't right. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and Kagome couldn't point out exactly _what _was bothering her but she was positive that something was wrong. Looking around to make sure that there was no one nearby, she uncurled her fingers and extended her arm away from her body. Pink purification powers immediately rose to the surface, dancing on top of the smooth skin of her arm, crackling against the air.

_Something is here, _Kagome thought, looking around. She felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of her face despite the cool air. _Something dark and tainted. _

And it was growing stronger too; the air around her began to feel heavier and heavier with each passing second. Kagome's vision swarmed and she stumbled forward onto the crosswalk at the sudden tightening of her chest. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision. The last time she had felt something like this was Naraku had thrown her into the middle of his miasma in an attempt to finish her off, hoping that she was too wounded to purify the thick poison.

Gritting her teeth, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut in concentration for a moment before snapping them open. She gathered up all her purification powers together, squeezing them tightly within her before releasing it. It exploded outwards with a loud crack, purifying the dark energy that had occupied the space moments before.

Kagome pressed a hand against her chest, breathing deeply. "What the hell was that?" she managed breathlessly.

The sudden sound of a car honking caught her attention and Kagome's head snapped up in shock. _She had stumbled in the middle of the road. _It had been _years _since she had last been in the feudal era, where a moment's hesitation could get one killed. Lacking the instincts and reaction she had back then, Kagome found herself tensing in response. And then the dark energy she had purified only moments ago returned, locking her muscles into place. She couldn't move.

Kagome could only stare at the oncoming car with wide eyes; its headlights blinding her.

**Also, I apologize for any grammar mistakes. I try to catch what I can but grammar is most definitely not my strong point. I probably should get a beta-reader but I am writing this story for fun and as a stress-reliever. Having beta-readers will just put pressure on me to have a set update schedule. I hope it doesn't distract anyone from reading and thank you for reading!**


	3. Down a Whirlpool

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Inuyasha or any of its characters.**

**Progression  
****[3] Down a Whirlpool**

"Light-kun," Ryuk cooed. "I'm so proud of you! You're a college student now!"

The young college student felt an eye muscle twitch in annoyance. Ryuk had been nothing but annoying for the past week and a half; Light had a feeling that the shinigami was taking revenge for all the times Light had refused to feed him his beloved apples. Thankfully, Ryuk was only ever this loud and annoying in public and Light rarely goes out; the shinigami had mentioned before in passing that he enjoyed testing the limits of Light's patience. _Which means, _Light translated, _he's bored and has nothing to do._

As annoyed as Light was about the situation, he found that he couldn't really blame Ryuk; forget the shinigami, _he _was bored. With the possibility of a new group of detectives attempting to catch Kira—_Ashikoba, _he remembered, gritting his teeth—Light had been keeping a low profile for the last couple of months. In the beginning he hadn't been too worried; unlike L, they didn't seem to be much of a threat to him. The only thing they've been doing was showing up in the aftermath of any Kira-related deaths; they haven't even issued any sort of public statement to confirm or deny their involvement with the Kira case.

It wasn't until a reporter attempted to corner the leader of _Ashikoba, _Akiyama Saitou into giving an interview did Light began panicking. The camera was on Akiyama for less than three seconds before the man reached out and broke the camera in annoyance but those mere seconds was all Light had needed. He recognized the man. It was the same man he had met back in the cafe, the one who sent shivers down his spine with a mere glance. Like all threats, Light had immediately wrote down the man's name in the Death Note only to find out that the man wasn't as stupid as he would have liked when he was caught on camera the day afterwards. It was then that Light seriously considered making the trade for the Shinigami eyes. His life would be so much easier if he had them.

Thankfully, however, _Ashikoba _seemed more concerned about the bodies rather than Kira himself. Which was a very good thing. If the group was as brilliant as the reports said they were then the last thing Light needed was _Ashikoba _teaming up with L.

"Higurashi-san!" someone called out from behind him.

Light paused momentarily, the name echoing in his ear. His heart pounded hard against his chest as he recognized the name. _Higurashi Kagome, _he remembered. It was a goo thing he had killed her when he did; with L attempting to hunt him down and Akiyama still alvie, he couldn't have multiple people going around getting "bad feelings" around him. However, now that he thought about it, Light found himself feeling a twinge of regret. Higurashi did seem like a good person, willing to talk to him despite feeling apprehensive. Perhaps he should have given her a better death, car accidents were such messy things.

Ryuk hummed besides him as he turned around, eyes scanning the crowd for a familiar face. After a moment, he realized that he was actually looking for Higurashi. His face flushed slightly in embarrassment and he forced himself to turn back around. _How stupid, _he thought. He killed her months ago; what was he doing looking for a dead person?"

"Hojo-kun!" he thought he heard a voice sounding awfully like Higurashi's responded.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the odd feeling in his gut, Light forced himself to stare straight ahead, making his way towards the entrance hall of his new university. He knew killing sometimes left ghosts behind but he also knew that like all the others, Higurashi's ghost would soon disappear and bother him no more. Light seated himself in the front row, ignoring the uncomfortable churning of his stomach.

"You nervous?" Ryuk crackled.

He almost rolled his eyes in response.

Between the additional fifteen minutes for everyone else to seat themselves and the ten minutes the University's dean took to make his speech, Light was ready to fall asleep on the spot. "And now," the dead said, "a few words from our freshmen representatives." He looked up, easily catching Light's gaze in the first row. "Yagami Light."

Light stood up obediently.

"Wow, how nice!" Ryuk cooed.

Light wanted to rool his eyes again. As if Ryuk wasn't there when he got his acceptance letter. The shinigami had all but demanded a bag of apples for celebration. He stood up, buttoning his suit jacket as he did so.

"And Ryuuga Hideki," the dean finished.

A pale and disorganized figure to his far left caught Light's attention and he almost faltered making his way up to the stage. A wave of whispers immediately followed the announcement and it took Light a few seconds to remember why the name was so familiar to him. He discretely examined the man from the corner of his eyes, taking note of his hunched posture and wild hair. He recognized this man. _I've heard of two people delivering speeches together before, _Light thought, _but this guy seemed too sloppy to be a representative from what I remember. _He was the only person Light knew to have been called out on sitting improperly during an exam.

"Yagami-san," the dean greeted, reaching out and shaking his hand. "Please begin with your speech." Light bowed as the dean turned and greeted Ryuuga in a similar fashion.

Light stepped forward, wondering if he should have prepared a speech beforehand. It was a good thing he could easily make on up on the spot. "Thank you," he said with another bow in the dean's direction before turning his full attention to the audience. He began; words spilling and flowing easily from his lips. Light prided himself in his ability to manipulate words to his liking, infusing non-existent passion into his voice and holding everyone's attention. "—the b-beginning," he faltered as he caught sight of a familiar face in the audience, "of a new... Generation..."

Long, black, wavy hair.

Large, innocent, ocean-blue eyes.

He knew her.

He _knew _her.

Licking his lips, Light forced himself to turn his gaze away, continuing on with his speech without another falter. His mind churned, words now automatically falling from his lips, lacking the passion they had before. In the back of his mind, he could only hope that he was staying on topic. _She should be dead, _he thought. _Why is she here? What happened? Why did the Death Note not work? _Where was Ryuk when he needed the shinigami? How useless. Had he misspelled her name? _No... _He remembered the identification card. _I couldn't have She should be dead. Why _isn't _she dead?_

Next to him, Ryuuga Hideki—L—bit his nail, side-glanced in Light's direction. Usually a calm man, Light's unusual behavior, his obvious distraction easily caught L's attention. He followed the younger man's gaze and found himself blinking in surprise.

_Oh, _he thought. Distracted by a pretty face? He doubted it and turned to examine the girl more closely. _Huh, _he thought, recognizing the young woman's face. She was the same woman that sat next to him during the bar exam. While not one to forget someone's face, no matter how insignificant they appeared to be, L had no doubt that even without his level of intelligence, Higurashi Kagome was too special to be so easily forgotten. Her expression when he had returned her half-chewed pencil was so particular, even those with short memories would remember her for years.

_I will not deny a beautiful face when I see one, _L thought, _but Higurashi is nothing special. _Perhaps an old girlfriend? L didn't think that was the case either since he couldn't remember Light's file containing anything related to her. _There must be something else. _No doubt Light is more than a little familiar with pretty girls and there _had _to be a reason why he had faltered upon seeing her. L bit his thumb again, making a mental note to keep an eye on her.

"Thank you," Yagami concluded with a bow in the audience's direction. L blinked, looking around as if confused; was it his turn already? He hummed as he stepped up to the podium, fingers slipping delicately into his pockets, trying to locate his speech. Murmured filled the audience but L ignored them all; he was more concerned with the presence to his right. He could tell Yagami was still staring at Higurashi but he couldn't observe the younger man's expression without giving himself away.

Finally, he pulled out his sheet of paper and cleared his throat, beginning his speech, "Um... yes, hello."

* * *

"Damn him!" Light snarled out, shoving his fingers through his hair. "He played me like a fool! I've never been this humiliated before in my life!" Whether that man was actually L or not, the bastard of a detective _was _behind the stunt and that was enough to make Light see red. Ever since he was tricked the first time he heard of L, Light knew the detective's intelligence wasn't normal by any standards but this stunt just proved L may actually be smarter than _he _was.

This was going to be one long, drawn-out battle.

"You know," Ryuk said, sounding a bit confused. "You could just do the eyeball exchange and kill him."

"If he's not the real L and I kill him, then L will know that I am Kira," he snapped.

"Oh," the shinigami muttered, taken back; this was the first time he's seen Light freak out, after all. "Sorry..."

Light huffed in annoyance. "Unlike you shinigamis, humans actually have to worry about what happens after we kill someone." And also, it wasn't _just _the L situation that was throwing him off his game, he had to also worry about Higurashi too. Why wasn't that woman dead? Was it possible... His eyes widened in horror at the thought and he turned towards Ryuk again. "Is there anyone the Death Note cannot kill?" he demanded.

Ryuk blinked at the unexpected question. "Well sure," he answered finally, looking thoughtful. "It's not exactly common knowledge though, even among us shinigamis."

Light felt his eyebrow twitch in anger. "What?" he hissed. _And you didn't think it was important to let me know? _He scowled; the shinigami just wanted to make his life even more complicated as if it wasn't already.

"Humans that are protected by the Shinigami King is immune to the influence of the Death Note." He rubbed his chin. "Of course, you can still kill them indirectly but writing their names down won't work." The shinigami shrugged his shoulders, "But the old man hasn't left the shinigami realm in about three hundred years or so—not since the last holy war—so there isn't a human alive today that's immune to the Death Note."

Light narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Huh?" Ryuk exclaimed. "What do you mean, am I sure? Of course I am! Who do you think I am?"

Light's jaw twitched in response and he did not soften his glare.

"Look," Ryuk said finally, realizing with no small amount of amusement how unsettled Light currently was. "The Death Note is a powerful tool, it can kill anything you want it to kill: animals, humans, demons, hell, it can even kill—"

"Demons?" the college student interrupted, sitting up at the new, unexpected information."

"Damn," Ryuk muttered. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Light glared again despite knowing that if Ryuk really didn't want him to know, no amount of glaring was going to get anything out of the shinigami. Now, the threat of withholding apples on the other hand...

"All right, all right," Ryuk cackled. "You didn't really think you humans were the only above-intelligent creatures to walk this planet, did you?" At Light's befuddled look, he laughed harder. "Oh no, demons have existed long before you guys even showed up and lived along side your kind for centuries." He threw a sly glance in Light's direction. "Are you sure you don't want to make a deal?" he asked. "We can easily spot demons even if they have masked themselves to better fit with your kind. Since we're really only in charge of human deaths we cannot see the names or life spans of demons."

"But the Death Note _can _still kill demons?" Light asked, completely ignoring Ryuk's earlier question.

Ryuk nodded. "Of course it can. Death Notes are the ultimate killing tool. Just because we're not in charge of demon deaths doesn't mean we can't kill them. We just have to get their names the old fashion way but everything else works the same way." He paused suddenly, only now did he realize exactly how much information he was giving the human shinigami. "Hey, why are you asking such weird questions, anyway?"

"Higurashi Kagome is still alive.

The shinigami paused. He wasn't sure if that bit of information was actually supposed to mean something to him. "Who?"

"The girl from the bar exam. The one that could sense you because she was "spiritually aware.'"

"Ooh," Ryuk nodded, remembering. Light had also met a demon the same day if he remembered correctly, not that the young man knew, of course. He froze suddenly as Light's words from before completely registered. "Wait, what? She's _alive?"_

"That's what I said."

"T-that's impossible!" Ryuk stuttered, mind whirling with their recent conversation. "There is no one that the Death Note cannot kill."

Light spun in his seat so he was completely turned around and facing Ryuk's direction. He raised an mocking eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Ryuk paused. The nerve of this human! With a sigh, he ran a clawed hand down the length of his face. "I probably shouldn't be telling you about this but everyone, demons, humans, and even shinigamis are tied down by fate. The Death Note is a tool that changes one's fate and no one, not even the strongest can go against their own fate." He frowned. "Are you actually sure that you got her name right?"

Light scowled. "Of course I am. You were there, weren't you?"

"But it's possible to change one's name," the shinigami pointed out. "If she is going by a different name than her birth name, you'll need to get your hands on those birth certificate things that humans hand out."

Light hummed thoughtfully; he hadn't actually thought of that. "Does that mean she's a demon?" He remembered Ryuk mentioning that he couldn't see the young woman's name or lifespan.

"Nah, she's human through and through."

"And what does _that _mean?" Light asked, scowling again. If shinigamis were in charge of human deaths, why the hell couldn't he see Higurashi's name or lifespan? He ran a hand across his face and sighed; the entire situation was actually getting a lot more complicated than he thought possible.

Ryuk shrugged again, the action becoming more and more annoying every time. "The shinigami world is rather complicated with all its rules and whatnot. Even _I'm _not completely sure of everything. But the girl's definitely not demon; demons have their own auras, just like humans do. Her aura was definitely human." He paused, remembering, "Strong individuals have the power to _hide _their aura but changing one's aura is impossible."

The college student grumbled something unsavory under his breath. Resting his elbows on his armrests, he folded his hands out in front of him, thinking, planning.

First he had to deal with L, the bastard of a detective was currently his biggest threat. And he should do a bit more research on _Ashikoba; _even if they appeared only to be interested in bodies, the last thing he needed was the apparently brilliant Akiyama Saito teaming up with L. He worry about Higurashi last; despite her not dying when she was supposed to, besides the bad feelings she gets around Ryuk, she really _wasn't _that much of a threat. Besides, if she was sensitive to the shinigami, all he had to do was make sure Ryuk stayed away while he was in class. Touou was such a big university anyway, what were the chances they would run into each other?

"I'll find out everything," Light finally said, a dark smirk twisting his lips, "and then I'll send you all to hell."

Ryuk gave a faint smile at Light's confidence. It was only mere minutes ago when he had threw a fit and now he was ready to take over the world again. However, the shinigami found that he could not actually share the young human's confidence. Higurashi was human, of that, he was positive. However, the fact that he couldn't see her name nor lifespan while she had been extra-sensitive to his presence... And then, to top it all off, the fact that she didn't die despite having her name written down in the Death Note. Was it possible that she was really born with a different name?

He didn't think so; in his experience, _nothing _was a coincidence. The shinigami chuckled at his thoughts. _Man, is Light in for a surprise or what?_

**I apologize for the long wait, I've been super stressed out about life. **


	4. Bitter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, Inuyasha, or any of its characters.**

**Progression  
****[4] Bitter**

The double doors to the abandoned warehouse opened with a loud _bang, _making everyone within it jump in surprise. Judging by the sudden waft of scent, Inuyasha was pretty sure one of them even pissed his pants and would have probably found the situation funny if Sesshomaru wasn't already in such a piss-poor mood. He walked alongside his brother as they strolled in. Sesshomaru did not bother greeting anyone and headed straight towards the body. Already, he was gathering negative attention.

"So, u-uh," Inuyasha stammered, having, lost his train of thought. He looked back down at his file, skimming. "So yea, it was a hostage situation and the crime was reported live. The dumbass was in the process of demanding a getaway helicopter—" He cut himself off, stared, and reread the sentence. What the hell kind of idiot demanded a helicopter? Did he even know how to control one? "Er... he died of a heart attack in the middle of negotiation.

Sesshomaru leaned down over the body, ignoring the medical examiner at scene as he attempted to scramble out of the demon's way. While the demon lord may look human and the humans in the warehouse may not know _what _Sesshomaru really was, he oozed danger and had no problem scaring the shit out of everyone. "Accuse of rape, if I remember correctly."

"Three counts," Inuyasha confirmed. "There was never a conviction though. His father's some higher up official or some shit like that. He died a little over an hour ago. Kira?"

Someone cleared their throat, prompting both demon and half-demon to look up. "Excuse me," the officer said in a deep, rough voice. Inuyasha tensed; deep and rough usually meant large. And large usually mean an overconfident idiot. "This is my crime scene and while I may have agreed to allow to allow _Ashikoba _to observe, you have no right to take over." Inuyasha turned and almost swore; as he expected, the human was a large—a _very _large man—and was probably used to using his size as an intimidation factor. It was too bad size meant absolutely _nothing _to Sesshomaru who's true form was larger than anything the dumbass could imagine. He chanced a glance at his half-brother.

Thankfully, Sesshomaru decided that the human wasn't worth it. Instead of responding, the turned his attention back towards the body, silently insulting the human in the process.

The man sputtered in anger. _"Excuse me? _How _dare _you—who do you think—"

"Now, now" a new voice cut in as a small figure stepped in front of the burly human, stopping him from taking another step towards ignorant human was just saved from certain death and didn't even realize it. "Orders from above," the red-headed young man soothed, holding out a sheet of paper.

The burly human grunted, grabbed the paper, and skimmed it with beading eyes.

"Clear everyone out," Sesshomaru ordered, still not bothering to look up.

"You heard 'em," Inuyasha cut in, hoping the idiot wouldn't argue. "Let's go."

After a few moments of grumbling, threatening, and complaining, the warehouse was finally cleared of everyone except for the three members of _Ashikoba. _The moment the door closed behind the last human, Shippo whirled around and glared at the demon lord. "Sesshomaru-sama! You were supposed to wait for me!" He was, after all, the liaison of the group.

Sesshomaru ignored him too.

"Argh!"

"I cannot see them," Sesshomaru finally stated, disturbed by the implications.

Inuyasha faltered. "Does that mean Tensaiga cannot cannot revive him?" Sesshomaru not being able to see the soul-carriers could only mean two things: either they have a soul eater on their hands or something powerful was preventing Tensaiga from doing its job.

Straightening up, Sesshomaru shrugged half-heatedly. "I am unsure. Mother has mentioned in passing that Tensaiga's ability grows with my own. After the addition of my fang, I am now able to resurrect someone multiple times when I could only do it once in the past." For someone who had been told he was no god, broke the rules that separated the two words and _became _one.

"Well," Inuyasha said. "I think you should try anyway."

Sesshomaru gave his half-brother a slow blink. "Are you mad?" he asked.

"Think about it," he defended. "Whoever Kira, if all his victims start coming back all of sudden, he's going to freak. We can definitely flush him out of this way."

Shippo snorted.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, wasn't sure if his half-brother was being completely serious; surely Inuyasha would grow _more _intelligent throughout the years, not less... "That would only work if we get to the victims before their deaths had been reported to the general public, lest I cause unwanted global panic." He gave Inuyasha a look that clearly asked, _How stupid are you?_

"Keh," the half-demon snorted smartly. "I think you should still do it anyway."

"It's a good idea," Shippo agreed, cutting in before Sesshomaru could insult his half-brother. "He might give us an insight on how he died. Maybe it _wasn't _a heart attack. If Kira isn't human, there's a possibility that he might have saw something. You can always kill him straight afterwards."

Sesshomaru considered the young fox demon's words and decided that it did have merit. He flexed his hand and extended his arm well away from his body. Summon his aura, he condensed it until he could feel the familiar hilt of Tensaiga hidden deep within his very aura. Pulling out his father's fang, he tilted his head, staring back down at the dead body. He couldn't see the soul-carriers and didn't think that swinging at the empty air around the corpse would be helpful.

"Oh man," Shippo groaned, seeing the glint in Sesshoaru's eyes. "This isn't going to be pretty."

Without another thought, the demon lord struck, stabbing the body through the chest with a blade that could not cut. There was a loud _crunch _sound as it broke through bone, followed by a slick, wet sort of noise. Shippo blanched.

"Okay," Shippo said weakly as Sesshomaru pulled Tensaiga out. "I just ate something before coming here. That's disgusting."

For a couple minutes there was nothing, then the guy gasped loudly, eyes shooting open. He sat up in alarm, eyes darting around, glancing at the three people staring down at him. One, he noticed, was holding a rather bloody sword. "W-who the fuck are you?" he stuttered, wondering what was going on. "Where the hell am I? Do you know who I am? My father is a very important man, you know!"

Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles, allowing his human mask to fade. Black hair melted away, leaving long, inhuman silver hair in its wake. Amber eyes stared down at the recently resurrected man; its gaze cold and unforgiving. "I can't really say I care." His claws glowed green. "Now, I have a few questions."

* * *

"Do you have a pencil I can borrow?"

"Yes, of course," Kagome answered immediately. She pulled one out of her pencil case and turned in the direction of the voice before promptly freezing.

This man.

She _knew _this man.

As he reached for the pencil, Kagome couldn't help but pull the pencil away from his reach. The man's finger closed around thin air and he blinked at the unexpected move before turning his dark gaze towards her. Kagome flushed at her own rudeness. "You... You..."

"I'm Ryuuga Hideki," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," she muttered back, mentally saying farewell to her pencil. "Here," she offered mournfully, shoving the pencil into his direction.

He crawled into the seat next to hers and brought his knees up against his chest, sitting in such a way that Kagome doubted its comfort. "Thank you," he said politely as he closed two fingers around the wooden pencil.

Kagome nodded in response. "You can keep the pencil." She didn't need _two _half-chewed pencils, thank you very much!

"How generous of you," Ryuuga intoned. He held up the pencil delicately, eyeing it carefully as if observing it. It was either that or he was making sure there wasn't something stuck to it before he stuffed it into his mouth and gnaw at it. The door to the classroom opened again and Kagome watched as Ryuuga brightened up. "Yagami-kun! Come sit with us," he said, waving a brown-haired man over. "Yagami-kun, this is Higurashi Kagome-san, Higurashi-san, this is Yagami Light-kun."

Kagome blinked at the sudden introduction. "Eh?" Distantly, she wondered if she had ever introduced herself to Ryuuga before; how in the world did he know her name?"

"We've met," Yagami said with a smile.

"_Eh?!"_

"At the bar exam," he elaborated, raising his eyebrows. "Remember?"

Kagome stared for a moment. She had to admit the man's young, handsome face was rather familiar but... Ah! He was the human the strange non-demon creature was following around. "Oh, of course!" She flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry! I'm really bad with names and faces!" Unlike Ryuuga, Yagami didn't make much of an impact in her eyes. She was already used to seeing the supernatural, even if it wasn't in _this _particular time period.

"It's all right," he answered back smoothly. "It's been a couple of months, after all. How do you two know each other?" He eyed Ryuuga, a strange light glinting in the depths of his eyes.

"We sat next to each other at the bar exam," Ryuuga answered.

Kagome watched the two of them for a moment as they eyed each other, communicating silently. _Maybe it's a male thing, _she thought as she turned away. She looked around, wondering where the strange creature was. Yagami's aura was still tainted, so the creature couldn't have left. Perhaps even supernatural creatures weren't interested in college classes? She couldn't blame it.

"Is something wrong, Higurashi-san?" Yagami asked as he took a set on her other side.

"Eh?" Kagome jumped slightly, looking at him. "Nono, of course not! Just looking around. I've never see such a big... classroom before." As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to smack herself. She's spent a year going back and forth from the well and managed to keep it a secret from her friends. How come she was still such a bad liar? Kagome grumbled darkly underneath her breath; she must have gotten it from her grandfather!

"...about me getting erectile dysfunction once. What an idiot!"

L blinked, wondering if this was one of those conversations where one had to actually _hear _the entire thing in order to make sense of it. Throughout the class, he kept a careful eye on Higurashi and Yagami, or more specifically, the man's interaction with the young woman but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. _Yagami is a better actor than I give him credit for, _he thought. Higurashi seemed completely normal, if only a little absentminded. _Perhaps Yagami was distracted by a pretty face, after all._

He bit his thumb, unable to shake off the feeling that he was missing something; something important. Yagami might be doing a very good job at hiding it now but back at the entrance ceremony, he had obviously reacted to Higurashi's presence. _There is something about this woman... _Perhaps she had witnessed something, something she considered to be so insignificant that she couldn't even remember Yagami, but something that Kira considered incriminating. He chewed the pad of this thumb thoughtfully; was it possible? Was it that simple? If so, why hadn't Yagami just killed her? After all, as much as Kira liked to call himself the God of Justice, he had no problem killing off innocent FBI agents who were simply doing their job.

Since it was the first day of classes, class ended rather early. Higurashi was already bidding her farewells and high-tailing out of the classroom before L could think of an excuse to make her stay longer so he could further observe her interaction with Yagami.

"Hmm..." he hummed. "She's an interesting person."

"You think so?" Yagami seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yes, of course." He smiled, "I can see myself hanging around her in the near future."

Silence.

Yagami cleared his throat almost awkwardly. "Why so interested?"

"Well, she's pretty for one," he answered as they made their way out the building. "And smart too, of course." Honestly, she seemed a bit dim but she had to have _some _level of intelligence to get into Touou. Right? "She's perfect."

Yagami blinked, staring at L in unmasked shock, unwavering even as L's usual car pulled up next to them. "Ryuuga-san," he said. "Do you have a crush on her?"

_Ah, _L thought. _I knew there was a name for that. _He paused. _I hope we're thinking about the same thing. _"Perhaps," he answered vaguely. "I'll see you tomorrow, Yagami-san." He nodded in Light's direction and waved Watari over. He could feel Light's gaze on his back even as he slid into the car seat before Watari closed the door behind him.

"Where to, sir?" Watari asked, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Sweets," L responded. "I want sweets." And he'll need lots of it too if he was going to be trying to figure out the connection between Higurashi, Light, and Kira.

"The usual place?"

"Yes."

_Sweetie Select _was a little corner of his personal heaven that he had found the first day he had arrived in Japan. Despite being located at the end of a street, it was usually stuffed full of customers no matter the time of day. Thanks to the city traffic, it took nearly half an hour just to get to the small cafe. Completely worth if, if one were to ask L, especially after he climbed out of his car and noticed that they had just placed three new cakes out on display.

"Pick me up in about an hour," L said distractedly, licking his lips. There is nothing like eating cake in a cafe while smiling the sweet aroma of even more cake being baked in the background.

"Of course, sir," Watari repsonded.

"Welcome, honored customer," the cashier called out cheerfully.

L nodded in response, gazing on the colorful display of sweets. He could feel his mouth filling up with saliva. "Where's the egg tart?" he asked. Usually he wasn't a fan of egg tarts since they weren't as sweet as he would like but the sweets from _Sweetie Select _had a way of worming their way into is heart.

The cashier smiled. "They just got out of the oven. We're waiting for them to cool."

"Bring five to my table," L said, nodding in the direction of the single open table. "I don't mind if they're warm. And I would like one of everything here." A delicious chocolate dessert caught his eye. "Except for that chocolate drizzle lava cake, I would like three slices of that."

The cashier stared at him, mouth open and gaping. It took a moment for her to recover. "Y-you're dining here?" she finally stammered.

"Yes," L answered simply.

"O-of course!"

"I'm guessing you're a regular?" a new voice asked, his tone amused.

L looked up and found himself staring at a young, handsome man with dusty red-orange hair and bright green eyes. A foreigner, most likely but his Japanese lacked an accent. "Yes," he answered, glancing back at the sweets display for a brief moment. "Do you require a recommendation?" Because if he did, L wasn't sure if he would be much help unless the man was all right with "everything" as a suggestion.

"Already got mine," the man answered, holding a large plate which was filled with three different cake slices. "And it seems like you already claimed the class open table. Do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is filled up."

"No," L responded, slinking towards the table. "Not at all."

"Thank you," he said with a charming lopsided smile as they took their seat. "My name is Matsumoto Yuuta, by the way."

_A native, _L thought, surprised. The cashier pulled up a cart and began placing plate after plates of single cake slices and other various sweets on the four-seater table. L hummed softly in gratitude and he introduced himself to the man across from him. "Ryuuga Hideki." He carefully noted the flash of confusion and surprise in the man's green orbs. _Definitely a native._

"Like... the idol?" Matsumoto asked hesitantly.

"Yes," L nodded mournfully. "It's unfortunate but we do share the same name." He looked down at the array of sweets that Matsumoto had ordered for himself. "You enjoy sweets too?" he asked. Three slices was impressive for anyone that _wasn't _L.

"Not really," Matsumoto replied before taking a large bite of the three-layered double chocolate cake.

L blinked; he was pretty sure one did not go around ordering a large quantity of things they do not actually enjoy eating. What a waste of sweets too. In his case, not only did he _enjoy _eating them but he _needed _them for him to be at his best. "Then why do you eat them?" Despite not one for small talk, L found himself actually interested in the man's answer.

Matsumoto shrugged in such a way that L had a feeling he was delving into something that may not have to do with sweets after all. "When I was younger," Matsumoto began slowly, "I loved them like any child would and... and... I would always get fed a lot, whenever I wanted. I was spoiled, really." He snorted softly and looked out the window wistfully. After a moment, L noticed that the man wasn't staring randomly into the distance like he had first expected and was instead, staring quite intently at group of middle or high school students standing outside the small cafe; their school uniforms fluttering innocently in the wind.

L was not sure what to think of the situation. "Matsumoto-san?"

Shaking his head, Matsumoto pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention back towards his dessert. "Recently," he finished with a quiet sigh. "I find that eating sweets leave a bitter taste in my mouth." His jaw twitched and he sounded so very broken. "But I can't bring myself to stop eating them."


	5. The Thing About Killers

**Okay, so I got a message from someone who was worried that L was falling in love with Kagome too quickly. I'm going to address this publicly since I don't want anyone to make the same mistake.****L **_**does not **_**have a crush on Kagome! Right now, the **_**only **_**reason he is interested in Kagome is because he noticed that Light reacted to her. And we all know once L gets an idea in his head, he's not going to let it go. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.**

**Progression  
****[5] The Thing About Killers**

_Introductory to Ethics _was one of Kagome's favorite class; she loved listening to debates about the various subjects covered in the class, whether something was right, wrong, in or in most cases, neither. Despite sharing the class with both L and Light—both of whom she was sort of becoming fast friends with—Kagome found herself looking forward to it every week. On the other hand, despite the seemly friendly air surrounding the three of them, she had a feeling that the two men weren't as friendly with each other as they let on. Despite that, they were both very intelligent and Kagome enjoyed weekly group projects with the two of them.

Until now, that is.

"Kira," she groaned, slumping in her seat. "Why _Kira?"_

Light stared down at the young woman in amusement. "Well," he answered slowly. "It _is _an ethics class... and Kira is... Well, Kira is _the _trending ethics topic of the world right now."

"Quiet so," L agreed in a soft murmur. He looked up, dark eyes staring at Kagome's slumped form on the other side of the table at the small sweets cafe—not _Sweetie Select, _unfortunately. "I see you're already tired of Kira, Higurashi-san."

"You have no idea," the young woman huffed, crossing her arms. "Everywhere I go, it's Kira this, Kira that. I mean, you have terrorist groups going around trying to take over the world, willing to destroy everything in the process. You have people beheading, kidnapping, and torturing others and you don't see _them _on the news."

Light blinked, unsure how he was supposed to respond to that.

"_Honestly_," Kagome continued, "Kira's doing something _constant. _Criminal. Heart attack. Criminal. Heart attack. There's only so many times you can report about Kira killing a criminal before it gets old. They might as well do a pre-recording and just change up the criminal's name."

_This little_—Light tightened his grip around tea mug.

"I can see your point," L responded with a nod. "But you must admit, Kira's the first person with the ability to kill anyone he wants, anywhere in the world."

_Kira can't kill anyone he wants, _Light fumed silently. _As if you didn't know! If he could, you would have been dead ten times over!_

Kagome, on the other hand, was unimpressed. "I guess," she said with a halfhearted shrug.

"Unfortunately," L said softly, licking chocolate from the corner of his lips. "We _do _have a project to complete."

"Right," Kagome said with a nod. "Are we supposed to argue for or against Kira?" She took a sip of her coffee then, trying to hid her embarrassment. "I'm afraid I wasn't really paying attention." As a matter of fact, she had tuned everything out the moment _Kira _passed her professor's lips.

Light chucked softly. "Our choice," he informed her. "But as a group, we _do _have to agree on one stance."

"So... which one are we leaning towards?"

Light and L exchanged glances. "Majority vote?" Light finally suggested when it became clear that the dark-haired man was more interested in his strawberry shortcake than the project. He couldn't blame the man.

Kagome shrugged, not really caring.

"I'm the son of a police officer," the college genius began in a determined tone. "I'm against killing so I'm against Kira."

Kagome nodded, scribbling down a sentence on her notebook paper. "Makes sense."

L grinned then. "I'm standing _for _Kira," he said, side-glancing at Light who threw him a surprised look. After a moment, he turned his attention back towards Kagome. "What about you, Higurashi-san? You're our tie-breaker." He licked the frosting off his thumb with a grin that was honestly one of the most creepiest things Kagome has ever witnessed.

She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly," she said hesitantly. "I'm not... I mean... I guess... Well, maybe—huh." The priestess sighed, tapping the end of her pencil against the notepaper. "To tell you the truth, I don't really have a stance."

"Understandable," L responded with a nod. He poked the raspberry sugar jelly in front of him and smiled slightly at its perfect consistency. "It's hard to have a firm stance if you are not personally affected by Kira." He spooned a piece into his mouth and moved onto the taro truffle next to it.

"That's right," Kagome agreed. "I mean, I can understand both perspectives, you know? On one hand, Kira _is _killing criminals, so I understand his desire to get rid of evil." She frowned. "But at the same time, people deserve second chances, don't you think?"

"Exactly," Light said. "And what happens if Kira accidentally kills an innocent man? Doesn't that make Kira, himself a criminal? Kira has already killed so many people, I'm sure if we take our time, we're bound to find a few innocent people that Kira has killed." Stirring his tea with a whirl of his mug, he sighed quietly at his next words. "I also share with his desire to rid the world of evil," he admitted. "But I don't think killing is the way to go."

Kagome nodded. "And you're adding an entire different monster if you want to throw in the question of mental stability. If you're a serial murderer in this day and age there's most likely something off about your mental health, right?" She paused, looking down at her notes that she had been writing while Light was talking. "I guess I'm more _against _Kira than I'm _for _him."

L chewed his strawberry cake slowly, savoring its sweet, sugary taste. He swallowed a mouthful and smiled. "I'm disappointed, Light-kun," he murmured, picking up a cupcake. "You should know that Kira doesn't kill just _any _criminal. He only kills ones that has been convicted more than once, caught in the act, or overlooked simply because they have money and connections." He nodded in Kagome's direction and pointed out, "The justice system is seriously flawed. Everyday, we have killers and rapists walking free simply because we have law enforcement officers that can't do their job properly. Criminals do not deserve to live so happily while the families of their victims mourn."

The detective's words struck so close to home that Light had to physically force himself not to react. He wanted so, very, _very _much to agree, to elaborate, to let everyone know exactly why he had chosen to burden himself with the pressure of becoming the God of the new world. Light was almost _angry _with L's short speech. If he truly was the _real _L, then it meant he understood the idea behind Kira's creation. How could someone of his intelligence—someone who _understood _Kira so well—still oppose him so publicly?

"Kira is justice," L continued in a surprisingly firm voice. "Kira is god."

Kagome stared but it seemed as if the man was unwavering in his belief. She had a feeling however, that L wasn't as big of a supporter as he said he was. It may or may not have something to do with Light declaring himself _against _Kira moments before L's own declaration. "I guess," Kagome responded hesitantly, as if she was afraid of interrupting something between the two males who were staring at each other quite intently. "But I'm not really a fan of cowards, though."

Light choked on his tea and two sets of bewildered gazes turned in her direction."W-what?" Light asked, sputtering.

The young priestess shrugged. "Well... Kira _is _kind of a coward, don't you think?"

"Um," Light began hesitantly. "That's not—that's not really how I would describe him." If he was anyone else _but _Kira, that wasn't how _anyone _would describe him, really. And judging by L's expression, even Kira's archenemy wouldn't describe him as a coward. Did the young woman not realize the courage and will that was required to become a god? Did she think it was an easy decision for him to make? Knowing that one day he may have to make sacrifices on _his _end, that he may have to choose between family and duty? If _that _didn't take courage, he didn't know what did. His gaze darkened uncontrollably; how _dare _she—

"Usually," L elaborated, keeping a careful eye in Light's direction. "People either think he's a god or a psychotic human with a god complex." He tilted his head, placing his cupcake back onto its plate. "Why _do _you say that, Higurashi-san?"

Kagome lowered her gaze, staring unseeingly at the array of sweets littering the table. "Well, it's obvious that Kira is killing his victims from a distance, right? Whether it's through poison, supernatural means, or something else; he's sitting in his room and killing people without lifting a finger." She looked up then and both Light and L were surprised by the coldness of her usually warm eyes. "And as long as Kira continues to kill this way, he will _never _understand the feeling of actually taking someone's life with his own hands. Until he can actually put a sword through someone's heart and stomach it, he is nothing but a coward."

There was no mistaking the steel behind her voice, but neither men could find it within themselves to ask her further. It was then, they realized simultaneously, that there was more to Higurashi Kagome than they first thought. Bright, ocean blue eyes hid something neither could even begin to imagine.

Still lost in thoughts, Kagome continued. Her voice was quiet and almost soothing but its tone contrasted her next words. "Can he imagine the sound of someone's lungs being filled with blood as they struggle to breathe? Or the sound of people crying in pain as their stomach acids dissolve their very bodies?" Her lips twitched upwards. "Do not call yourself _Kira, _if you have no idea what the word even means."

Kagome's eyes became glassy as she lost herself in memories; replying one specific scene over and over again in her mind. Long forgetting that she was currently in the middle of a very public cafe with two friends, her hands tightened into small fists underneath the table. She remembered it as if it was yesterday; she remembered the screams, the cries, the smells, the blood, the blood, _the blood. _Kagome had taken life before then—multiple times, in fact—but it was one thing to shoot an arrow and make a demon _disappear _and an entirely different thing when one does the killing up close and personal.

"_Don't worry," _she remembered herself saying as if it had mattered. _"I'm a priestess." _As if it had made a difference. As if she had saved _anyone _that day.

_The man gargled something that she couldn't understand, his lungs filled with too much blood for him to breathe properly, much less speak. "Please_—" _he tried again, blood spilling out of his mouth. "P-p-please."_

_Her sight blurred with tears as she pressed one hand against the man's wound in order to slow the bleeding while she dug into her first aid kit with her other. "Hold on," she whimpered as soothingly as she could. "Hold on." All around them, sounds of screams and cries filled the air. The smell of blood was so strong that despite her human nose, it still left her gagging. She could only imagine what her demon companions were feeling._

"_That's enough, priestess," a voice said behind her. _

"Shut up, _Sesshomaru!" she snarled, pulling out her sewing kit. She ignored the demon lord and the rest of the makeshift shard-hunting group behind her. It didn't take a genius to know what they were thinking. Poor, innocent Kagome... thinks she can save the world with only a smile and a flip of her hair._

_The demon lord of relentless and continued on ruthlessly. "His stomach was split, if he does not die of blood loss, his stomach acids will liquefy his internal organs. You cannot save him." His words cruel and straightforward. With Naraku's end so close, they could not shield Kagome away anymore. She was of no use to them naive; trying, trying, _trying _to find the good in everyone around her._

"_Kagome-chan..." Sango breathed._

_Kagome sniffled, twisting her head in order to wipe her tears away with her shoulder. Sesshomaru dropped down next to her, balancing himself on a single knee. He pulled something out of the front pocket of her yellow pack and extended it towards her._

_She had a feeling she knew what she was before she even saw it. Kagome turned slowly, not wanting to confirm it and immediately felt her stomach drop at the sight._

_A dagger._

_Breathing heavily, Kagome brought her gaze upwards and stared into unforgiving, cold amber eyes._

A dagger.

"_No," she whimpered brokenly. "Don't make me do this. Please, don't."_

_His gaze hardened further, a feat Kagome didn't think was possible. "You must," he pressed. "This is your duty."_

Silly Kagome, _a voice in her head cooed. _Didn't you know? Not all fairy tales have happy endings.

_Her duty. _Her duty. _But she never asked for this. She never expected_—_she never wanted_—

_With a shuddering breath and a shaking hand, Kagome took hold of the decorated hilt of the dagger and pulled the blade from its sheath. It felt heavy in her hands, heavier than she ever remembered the dagger being. When Sesshomaru had first given it to her, she thought it was the coolest thing ever. What a fool she was._

_Poor, innocent Kagome._

"_P-please," the man gasped. "Please." And it wasn't a plea of healing like she had wanted to believed it to be earlier. It was a plea for release. _Kill me, _he was trying to say. _End me.

"_What do I do?" Kagome asked, sobbing. "I don't know what to do!"_

_Sesshomaru slipped into position behind her, steadying her with a firm hand on her hip and wrapping his other hand over her smaller, trembling one. "Upwards, through the throat," he murmured softly against her ear. "Quickly. Deeply; enough to reach the back of his head."_

The brain stem, _she thought numbly. If struck correctly, instant death._

"_Priestess," the man breathed. "P-please."_

"_Yes," Kagome responded. "I'm sorry."_

_She struck._

* * *

L sat in front of his various computer screens, gnawing at the pad of his thumb, thinking.

"_Do not call yourself _Kira, _if you have no idea what the word even means."_

_Kira. _Killer. She was smiling when she said that but there was no amusement in her eyes.

"_Do not call yourself _Kira," she had said. Do not call yourself a killer.

The detective sighed and rubbed his temples. As intriguing as Higurashi was, as curious as she made him with her words, he was here to hunt down Kira and he could not afford to get distracted. He needed to concentrate on the important things.

"_...he is nothing but a coward."_

She was no supporter of Kira, that much was obvious. And Yagami's reaction to her words... Did her description of Kira anger him or simply shocked him as it had with L? Despite himself, L _could _understand what Higurashi had meant even if he never thought about it from that specific perspective before. He chuckled softly; it was thanks to her words and Light's reaction to them that the possibility of Light being Kira just went up another five percent.

"Sir?" Watari asked as he walked into the room.

L looked up. "What is it?" he asked. Watari did not usually interrupt him unless it was something important. He knew better than to bother L while he was sitting in his typical "thinking position." It was thanks to him sitting uninterruptedly in such a position that he was able to solve as many cases as he did.

"It's the _Ashikoba, _sir."

L blinked slowly; now _that _was a name he didn't usually hear. While they had previous taken some of the same exact cases he took on before, he had never actually crossed paths with them. While he worked on _solving _the cases, the _Ashikoba _spent more of their time... well, he wasn't sure exactly _what _they spent their time doing. He remembered in a particular case, they had actually taken the suspect—caught by L, thank you very much—off the hands of the government but the detective wasn't sure what happened to the suspect after that. Like him, the _Ashikoba _only took cases that interest them but there was no way of actually getting in contact; therefore, there was no way of proposing a case to them. With Kira being so famous and unusual, it was unsurprising that the _Ashikoba _got themselves involved.

"It's been confirmed that they are now involved in the Kira case." He handed L a thin manila folder, containing what little information they knew of the group. "Bodies of every Kira-related deaths in Japan are now required to be sent to _Ashikoba _headquarters."

"_What?" _L demanded. "Where are they getting such authority to demand such a thing?" And what the hell are they going to do with the bodies anyway?

"I'll look into it."

Frowning, L flipped the folder open. The first page was a list of known members and the limited private information they had on them. _Leader: Akiyama Saitou,_ the first line read. Everything after that was left blank. No one knew anything about the man; there was no record of birth certificates, no passports, nothing. Did the group have some sort of international come-and-go pass that he was not aware existed? He skimmed down to the _Notes _section, which, surprising, had something written down, even if it was only a sentence. _May have brother (see interaction transcription on Section 4.3)._

Flipping past the next few pages—of completely useless information—he stopped only when he came across the photos. Some were old, but some, he realized, was more recent. He recognized an old building where a body of one of Kira's victim was found. He easily recognized Akiyama Saito, mostly due to his holier-than-thou glare than anything else but he was unfamiliar with everyone else on the scene. Then, a red-orange haired figure caught his eye.

Wait a moment.

L narrowed his eye, leaning closer to the photograph. Next to Akiyama...

_Well, _he thought uncharacteristically. _Damn._

Matsumoto Yuuta.

_I should have gotten his contact information._

With a sigh and a regretful shake of his head, he handed the folder back to Watari. "Keep an eye on them but as long as they do not interfere with my investigation, leave them alone; it's obvious their interest does not affect mine."

"Understood, sir."

L turned his attention back to the computer screen in front of him which showed Higurashi's Touou student profile. He narrowed his eyes.

"_Do not call yourself_ Kira_, if you have no idea what the word even means."_

_Oh, Higurashi, _he thought, unable to help himself. Ignoring her comments was like dangling a treat in front of L and expecting him to _not _do anything. _You're here to investigate Kira, _L reminded himself. _So investigate Kira first and _then _treat yourself to some Higurashi investigation afterwards._

"And pull up everything you can on Higurashi Kagome."

* * *

"I've resurrected sixteen victims and we still have nothing."

Shippo and Inuyasha exchanged glances; usually, the demon lord was much more patient than this but it was hard to be patient when they had gotten no further than they started out months ago. The young fox kit sent Inuyasha a pleading look but was only given a shrug and an amused smirk in return. It's been a while since he had seen his brother so annoyed and nothing was going to prevent him from enjoying it as long as he can.

"Don't think about it like that," Shippo attempted to soothe. "Think, "I've killed sixteen people, that's more than I've killed in _years." _It'll make you feel a lot better."

Once upon a time, Sesshomaru never went a day without killing someone. The years of transition must have been hard on him; killing the resurrected victims honestly should feel like breathing fresh air.

Unfortunately, Sesshomaru was unimpressed. "Get out," he hissed, eyes flashing. "Get out and do not come back until you get me some new information on Kira!"

"Right!" Shippo said, shooting up with speed that impressed even Inuyasha. "Got it!"

Two sets of amber eyes followed him as he slipped out the door, closing it behind him softly so not to upset the demon lord further. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The kit is acting rather normal," he said softly, looking in his half-brother's direction.

Inuyasha flushed.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "You did not tell him," he stated.

Jaw twitching, Inuyasha looked away with a soft huff. "I just," he began. "I just don't think he'll handle it well."

"He has the right to know the priestess is alive and well," Sesshomaru said softly.

Inuyasha sighed, gaze lowering guiltily. "I know," he whispered. "I know."


End file.
